As we draw to the end of our first term in Salesian College of 2015-2016 we would like to update our parents of recent school events and upcoming activities which your may note in your diary. There is important news in this newsletter which we bring to your attention. Your son’s house exam report is with this newsletter. We ask all parents and guardians to discuss the reports and to review your son’s results. We hope that the results indicate the high levels of study, application and work we expect of all our students. All Year heads will review these marks and should you have any concerns please contact your son’s Year head to discuss their progress.

School News & Student EventsTL 21- Teaching & Learning for the 21st Century at Salesian CollegeSalesian College has recently joined the TL21 Programme. TL21 is a research project designed to enhance innovation and creativity in second-level schools in Ireland. The project will develop existing good practice in the classroom and promote fresh thinking in the teaching and learning process. The team, consisting of teachers and school management, have chosen the topic of active learning as their main focus. Their aim for this year and next is to create a whole school active learning environment which will encourage students to become more responsible and independent learners. It aims to enable students to take an active and responsible part in their own learning and to develop critical thinking skills which will be transferrable to life after school. This will be done through active teaching methodologies including role playing, oral presentations, co-operative learning and research work. We look forward to this exciting initiative.

Non-uniform day 18th December & 1st Year QuizWe will hold an annual non-uniform day on Friday 18th December in aid of St. Vincent de Paul. I thank Ms. Moore, Ms. Cullen and Ms. Dolan for organising this event. We ask all students to contribute a minimum €2 at least to this very worthy charity. As all monies will be presented to the local St. Vincent de Paul Conference here in Celbridge it is important that we support this as best we can.We will also hold our annual 1st year quiz for all first years. This fun event is organised by our Ceangail and Cinnirí teams.

Ceangail & Cinnirí 2016-2017.Interviews for our new team will be held before Christmas this year. We have reviewed these programmes and we are working on a new system. The students who volunteer for Ceangail & Cinnirí are exceptional students. It is a privilege to see their work and to see how their involvement is part and parcel of the personal development and the holistic education which is central to the Salesian ethos. I commend in advance all students who apply for these positions.

ACRE project & Christmas fairWe thank all our parents and members of the community who volunteered and who assisted in the organisation of the Christmas fair in the school which took place on November 28th &29th. Christmas trees are on from the ACRE project up to the 15th December. Please support this local enterprise which supports the Celbridge community.

Afterschool Study Term 2Applications for supervised afterschool, evening and Saturday study will be available before the end of the week. We strongly encourage all our Junior and Leaving Certificate students to sign up for these sessions as it has been proven again and again that students who regularly study in a focused and organised way are academically more successful.

School web-site & Facebook pageWe invite all parents to check our school web-site page and Facebook page to see all the wonderful and different activities taking place in the school on a weekly basis. Our aim is to have these sites as informative as possible and to share as much information with parents about daily and weekly school news and events.

Carols by Candlelight Tuesday 22nd December On Tuesday 22nd we will hold a special Christmas event for all students and staff. All students will attend a Carols by Candlelight celebration in the school hall. I thank sincerely Ms. Tierney and Ms. Kelly who are already working with the student singers and musicians. I hope this will be an enjoyable celebration for Advent and Christmas for Salesian College. Parents are welcome to attend.

2nd &3rd Year information meetings Mr.Kerins, Mr. Leonard and Ms. HarrisI would like to commend and thank Mr. Kerins and Mr. Leonard in their Year head roles and Ms. Harris as Guidance Counsellor for their excellent presentations to second and third year parents in November. There was an excellent attendance from parents. The main areas covered were the different school systems, the most important, challenging and changing year in a student’s life when in school, and how parents can support their sons. Very clear recommendations in relation to homework habits, studying and school expectations were also explained. This was a very positive experience and we hope that parents will take this on board and we will see an improvement.

Parents AssociationOn behalf of all the students, parents, guardians, Trustees and Board of Management members I wish our new Parents Association the very best in the new roles. The new committee members are:Chairperson Mr.Larry NorrisTreasurer Ms.Mary QuineSecretary Mr.John Lynam

The work of the Parents Association is very important and we thank all who attend the meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for their contributions and involvement. New members are always welcome and your help and assistance is always needed. I would like to thank all parents who helped out at our recent Open Day. All of you were first year parents at one stage and it is important to see the importance and relevance of parental involvement and participation in all aspects of your son’s school life. The Board of Management will meet with the new committee in the New Year and we look forward to their collaboration. To contact the Parents' Association you can:e-mail:salesianparentsassociation@gmail.com or write to the Secretary, Salesian College Parents Association, C/O of Salesian College, Celbridge, Co.Kildare.

School Administration& SystemsMobile phone use in school & Social Media.The Board of Management have reviewed the code of behaviour in relation to mobile phone use in school. There are very very good reasons why as a school we have these rules. It is important that students focus on their class work and during break times they interact with the friends and colleagues. You are all aware of the addictive and strong pull mobile phones have for all young people. This also applies to teachers. Should the school allow free use of mobile phones we firmly believe that this would have a negative impact on the school discipline and it would also mean we would absolutely no control over unauthorised content being used in any way especially posting on-line. It is a challenge in itself keeping students focused as it is in a very busy and demanding world when the internet offers so many distractions. Therefore on behalf of the Board of Management I clarify for all parents, guardians, students: Students are not allowed to use their mobile phones once they are on the school premises during school time, this includes break and lunch times. Accessing information from their phones such as checking the time, checking text messages or any other form of communication, having their phone on, ringing, alert tones going off, taking photographs, recording of any kind constitutes using the mobile phone. When students breach this rule they are asked to give the phone to the teacher, it is put in an envelope and given to Ms.Kearns for collection at the end of the day. We do not keep mobile phones overnight. The sanction of 1 day suspension of €45 fine is explained and the student is obliged to discuss this breach with his parents / guardians that night and inform the school the following day what sanction they will take. Students who are suspended must be accompanied by a parent / guardian on their return to the school .I ask all parents to discuss this with your sons so that there is no further ambiguity about this. This works well in the school because for your own son’s sake we apply this serious rule. We expect full cooperation from all students and parents in relation to this.

6th year Debs 2016 & Graduation 26th May 2016I thank in advance the Debs team on the Parents Association who organise this formal and official event for our 6th year graduates each year. I would like to advise all 6th year parents that tickets for this event are only sold to registered students and the tickets are non- transferable. Students who have left the school before 6th year are not allowed attend. We advise in advance that should genuine tickets for the Debs be sold / passed on to a non-registered 6th student of Salesian College and should they turn up on the night they will be refused entry, even if they have a partner in attendance and no refund will be given. We ask for your cooperation in this. I have also previously addressed to 6th year parents our concerns about the “unofficial grad” which takes place anytime from Easter to the end of the school year. Should this event be organised again this year please note that the school will not make any concessions or arrangements in relation to possible practical state exams or deadlines. Again we advise that this is not an official school event, it is a very serious breach of the school’s code of behaviour to use the school name to organise or book a venue or event. Our concerns about the timing and unsupervised elements of this event has been very serious over the last few years. Again we ask for your assistance in this. The school official Graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday 26th May. This ceremony is by invitation only.

School email & contacting& communicating with the schoolThe school journal is the main form of communication with the school. We have recently updated the school email system and all teachers have their own email addresses. This is for internal school work only. If parents need to contact the school they should use the journal and the only address for electronic contact and communication with the school is the official school email: salesianscelbridge1@eircom.net.

School OfficesWe ask parents not to drop any “forgotten” items up to the school. The office staff will not bring these to the students. We ask for your full cooperation with this.

Lost property / coats / jacketsI would like to clarify for parents that as far as we are concerned there is not a serious issue in relation to jackets been stolen and students property being taken. I would like to draw your attention to the photo which is posted on our web-site of all the jackets and coats which have been left behind by students, have gone unclaimed and are hanging in the Sólás room. If any parent would like to check these jackets I invite them to call to the school on Monday 21st December between 12.00-1.00pm to see if they recognise “their son’s stolen jacket”.

6th Year News &Guidance and Career Counselling News6th Year mock interviews – Monday 11th January 2016A number of years ago the Career Guidance Department organised mock interviews for our 6th year Leaving Certificate students. This proved to be such a success that it has become an annual event. We hold this event to give the students the practical and real-life experience of a formal interview. This is an invaluable experience for our students and one of the highlights of their sixth year so we are looking forward to a successful event again on Monday January 11th.A lot of our 6th year students will during Term 2 have to attend for a formal interview for particular courses they wish to apply for after their graduation . It is also it is a great experience for students who may be applying for summer jobs before they start university. It has always been a very successful event. I would like to genuinely thank all parents who have already signed up to help out on this evening, however I am now going to appeal to your generous spirits and sense of involvement and community! We need approximately 15 more people who would participate in the interviews, 85% of our 6th years have applied to take part. As parents and guardians I know that when your son is in 6th year you will want your son to be involved in this event and you will be glad that parents apart from yourself are giving of their time, so can I ask all parents to check their diaries and to consider getting involved this year? The interviews will take place on January 11th. It is extremely well organised by Ms. Mary Harris, our Guidance Counsellor.If you can volunteer we would be very grateful. Please email Ms.Harris atMHarris@salesianscelbridge.com.

Sixth Year Guidance and Counselling NewsWe will be sending a letter out to all sixth year parents this week with very important information on the CAO, PLC applications and the HEAR and DARE schemes. In the meantime, may we ask that you speak with your sons about their applications and if you require any information or assistance, please contact Ms Harris at the school at any time. Please note that the school will not process any requests for applications for these schemes following the agreed deadlines. The school will not complete the required reference sections if students, parents, guardians fail to submit the required reports and documentation when requested. It is vital that the deadlines given are adhered to. The school will not be responsible for failure on a student’s or parent’s part to complete this process correctly.

This year we have had some excellent career talks from speakers to the school from Maynooth University, UCD, the Quinn school of Business UCD, DIT and DCU. In the New Year, these talks will continue with representatives and speakers from IT Tallaght, IT Blanchardstown, DIT school of Business and Dunboyne PLC College with others to be confirmed. We encourage all students to attend.

Fifth YearOur Junior Achievement Success Skills Programme will start for fifth year students in the New Year and run for six weeks. Trained volunteers from Deloitte and Touche and other industries will be delivering the programme aimed at motivating the students and teaching them about the world of work. This is our fourth year to run this programme so we look forward to its continued success. Our thanks to our previous volunteers from HP who did such excellent work in previous years.

Second and Third YearsWell done to all our second year students who attended Study Skill Workshop after school on November 24th. We will be holding a similar workshop for all third year students in January and would strongly encourage all students to attend. Advice and support will be given on planning, study techniques and mental health and well-being which we hope will help students during the next very important months coming up to their Junior Certificate.

First YearOur first year interviews will begin in January 2016 and continue through February. Ms Harris and Mr. Mark Ryan will meet all our first year students individually to discuss their first term in the school.

Transition YearTransition year students have had a very eventful first term and have been exposed to many learning experiences. Activities covered so far this year include the following, bowling in Palmerstown, visits to Castletown House, Croke Park, Dublin Zoo, French Theatre for Schools, Road Safety course, and the African Drums module. Students completed a full day in cookery skills in Fairyhouse Cookery School and TY1 have had ongoing tuition in Horticulture in the Acre Project.TY students will complete a hike in the Wicklow Mountains later in the year as part of their Gaisce award programme. ECDL modules will shortly be completed by TY2 and students in TY1 will start this programme in January. We wish to thank all employers who facilitated our students in their two week work placements. Their support is very much appreciated and time spent monitoring, giving feedback to our students adds to the hugely positive and enriching experience that the students have. We wish all of our TY students and their parents a Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in January.

Mass timesOn behalf of all the school we would like to wish our Salesian community members, Fr. Koenraad, Fr. Tony Mc Evoy, Fr.Selva, Fr.Lukasz and Br.James and Fr.Brewster, Br.PJ Nyland a warm and peaceful Christmas. The Salesian Community celebrate Christmas mass at 10.30am Christmas day and members of the community are welcome to attend.